Sept 10

September 10, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)

Groundskeepers had sprayed the crushed brick infield before they lined it but by game time it was dusty and dry under the relentless sun. Sky Blue faced Green in the 9:00AM game and Glenn Little was there before 8:45, unheard of in previous years where he would still have untied shoes at gametime. “My wife is makin’ sure I’m here on time this year; I’m just doin’ what I’m told.” Dale McWhorter led off with the first of his 5 hits on the day, and second batter Ronnie Muro did the same. Scott Wadsworth, whose fan club greeted him wildly, hit a 3-run homer. Ken Sransky followed with a double and Duffy Vandeford drove him in for Sky Blue’s fourth run. Green answered with one run in the bottom of the first when Gene Garcia doubled and David Ferguson drove him in. Sky Blue scored three more in the second; Wayne Sheets and Dale singled, Ronnie drove in Wayne, and Jeff Tyler drove in Dale and Ronnie. Scott Wadsworth hit another ball over the fence but was stranded at first by the RASSA ground rules. Sky Blue shut out Green in the bottom of the second and Green shut out Sky Blue in the top of the third. Then Green batted around in the bottom of the third and scored 4. Gene Garcia and Cecil Kwong singled; David Ferguson drove in Gene but Cecil got cut down at third base on Phillip Cheek’s fielder’s choice. Bobby Watkins singled to load the bases and Mike Madden drove in David and Phillip. Holly Whitmire drove in Bobby but catcher Duffy V caught a foul tip to end the inning. Sky Blue 7, Green 5 after three.

Wayne Sheets walked, Dale singled, Ronnie drove in Wayne, Scott drove in Dale, Ken Sransky walked and David Bedwell drove in Ronnie, Scott and Ken with a triple to score 5 in the top of the fourth. Gene Garcia doubled, Cecil Kwong singled and David Ferguson drove in Gene. Phillip singled, Bobby Watkins drove in Cecil and Mike Madden drove in David for Green’s 3 fourth inning runs. Both teams added runs in the fifth. Sky Blue got 4 on hits by Glenn Little and Gary Singleton, another Wayne Sheets walk and Dale’s three-run double. Ronnie Muro drove in Dale. Green got 5; Doug Ferguson, Pete Manown and Mark Lilla singled, Gene drove in Doug and Cecil drove in Pete and Mark. David Ferguson singled and Phillip drove in Gene and Cecil. But Sky Blue scored 2 more in the top of the sixth on Scott’s single, Ken Sransky’s double and David Bedwell’s RBI single, and shut out Green in the bottom to take an 18 to 13 lead into the open 7th.

Sky Blue scored 2 more in the top of the seventh on Dale and Ronnie’s fifth hits and Scott and Ken Sransky’s RBIs, and Green needed 7 runs to tie. Doug Ferguson led off with a single but was forced out at second on a fielder’s choice. Mark Lilla singled and Gene Garcia drove in 2 runs with a triple to the corner in right. Cecil walked, David Ferguson drove in Gene, Phillip Cheek singled to load the bases, Bobby Watkins drove in Cecil, Mike Madden drove in David and all of a sudden, the winning runs were on base. The crowd got tense. Holly Whitmire singled in Phillip to bring Green within one run of a tie. Green has 6 one-run losses already this season and fans expected the worst. Then Doug Ferguson strode to the plate for the second time in the inning and hit a shot over the flailing left fielder’s head to the base of the fence and the tying and winning runs crossed the plate. Green won the game, 21 to 20.

Green hitters were 33 for 46 with 2 walks for a .717 team batting average and a .729 on-base percentage. Gene Garcia and David Ferguson were 5 for 5. Sky Blue hitters were 26 for 45 with 5 walks for a .578 team batting average and a .620 on-base percentage. Dale McWhorter, Ronnie Muro and Scott Wadsworth were all 5 for 5 and Ken Sransky was 3 for 3 with 2 walks.

Sky Blue’s Gary Singleton is a long-time farmer and a week earlier had been talking about his blackberries. “I got the best blackberries around and I used to pick ‘em myself and make blackberry cobbler. I make the best blackberry cobbler there is, but I got tired a pickin’ the berries. Then I felt guilty about leavin’ somethin’ that good out in the field so I hired some people to pick ‘em for me. It costs me twice as much to get ‘em picked as I can sell ‘em for, so I make a lotta cobbler.” Handsome Herb is among the world’s great eaters of sweet stuff, so he immediately asked Gary to bring some cobbler to the field, and today Gary did. Handsome Herb’s candid opinion is that Gary, though he loves to roll around in the dirt at third base, is indeed the finest blackberry cobbler chef on earth. The crust was perfect and the berries were unbelievably sweet and tender. I only regret I couldn’t eat more!

The late game began while I was licking my fingers. Blue sent its murderer’s row to the plate and scored 5 runs. Jeff Tyler doubled, Sid Hilton doubled, Ken Sransky singled, Scott Wadsworth singled, Mike Richards singled, Edwin Yergan doubled and David Brasfield drove in the 5th run. Red scored 2. Jim Raley and Pete DiChiarra singled, but Jim got called out trying to reach third base. David Ferguson doubled and Bill Lovell drove in Pete with another double. Wayne Graham drove in Bill. Rel Underwood singled and Rick Erdimer drove him in for Blue’s only second inning run. Red scored 2 when Holly Whitmire, Dick Baguley and Alicia Johnson singled. Jim Anderson singled in Holly and Jim Raley singled in Dick. Blue posted another 5 in the third; Jeff Tyler, Sid Hilton, Ken Sransky, Scott Wadsworth, Mike Richards, Edwin Yergan, David Brasfield and Rel Underwood hit 8 singles in a row. Then Blue shut out Red in the bottom of the third. Blue 11, Red 4 after three.

Neither team scored in the fourth. Blue had another string of hits in the fifth. Brian Gierlatowicz, Don Dietz, Jeff Tyler, Sid, Ken Sransky, Scott and Mike Richards all singled to get the 5 runs. Red made it 16 to 8 by scoring 4; Jim Anderson walked, Jim Raley and Pete DiChiarra loaded the bases with singles and David Ferguson drove in a run with a walk. Bill Lovell singled in Jim Raley, Wayne Graham drove in Pete and Ron Oliver drove in David. Blue added 2 in the top of the sixth; Edwin Yergan, Rel Underwood and Harold Easterwood singled, and Melinda Adkins drove in Edwin. Brian G drove in Rel. Red got within striking distance by scoring 5. Dick Baguley singled and Alicia Johnson reached on a fielder’s choice. Jim Anderson and Jim Raley singled and Pete Di drove in Alicia and Jim Anderson. David Ferguson drove in Jim Raley and Bill Lovell tripled to score Pete and David. Blue 18, Red 13.

Then Blue went on a tear in the open 7th. Another string of 9 hits by Jeff Tyler, Sid, Ken Sransky, Scott, Mike Richards, Edwin, David Brasfield, Rel, and Harold Easterwood scored 7 runs before Red got anyone out. Then Rick Erdimer got another hit and Brian G drove Rel in for Blue’s 8th run to bring their total to 26. Wayne Graham and Ron Oliver singled for Red and Keith Frederick drove in Ron, but that was the only run Red could muster in their half of the 7th and Blue won 26 to 14.

Blue hitters were 39 for 49 with no walks for a .796 team batting average and on-base percentage. Jeff Tyler, Sid Hilton, Ken Sransky, Scott Wadsworth, Mike Richards, Edwin Yergen and Rel Underwood were all 4 for 4. Red hitters were 26 for 40 with 2 walks for a .650 team batting average and a .667 on-base percentage. Jim Raley was 4 for 4 and Jim Anderson was 2 for 2 with a walk.

Bill Lovell was philosophical after the game. “When a whole team goes on a hitting spree there’s not much you can do. I been thinkin’ about takin’ up tennis, but it’s pretty discouraging. No matter how hard I try I’ll never get as good as a wall.”

The blackberry cobbler required a two-hour nap after the game. While dreaming, Handsome Herb wondered if you should use a silencer when you’re shooting at a mime.